Poached Plums, Pastry Cream, and Shortcake

We made the poached plums, pastry cream, and shortcake from these recipes. I die. It's such a fall-y combination. Again, I die.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/poached-plum-tart

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/shortcake-recipe/index.html

Also...I'm considering turning this into a joint cooking adventure blog with John, and calling it "Cooking for Two". But that's also disgusting...so maybe not.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Remember that time that I found out I was allergic to chicken, and then my new two blog posts were chicken recipes.

That's because I'm protesting.

John is sick! Poor guy has had a cold for the entire week! SO, on Tuesday we made my (slash my mom's) famous chicken noodle soup for him! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken (herb crusted, pref.)
2 32 oz. cartons of chicken stock (GOOD chicken stock, PLEASE)
1/4 white onion, chopped (or, if you're John, annihilated)
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/4" rounds
3 stalks of celery, chopped into 1/4" semi-circles
2 tbsp. butter
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp each of the following: dill, tarragon, thyme, parsley (or you could just toss in a classic Bouquet Garni, plus some dill...dill is essential)
Salt and pepper to taste (I like to just lightly season the meat, and then pepper the heck of of the soup itself)
1 package of egg noodles (you'll end up using about 3/4 of a package)

Directions:

1) Tear that chicken apart! Separate skin and bones from the meat. Place skin and bones in a large stock pot with chicken stock and herbs. Simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the broth from the skin and bones. Return broth to stock pot and bring to a boil to cook egg noodles.

2) Meanwhile, chop chicken meat into bite-sized chunks.

3) ALSO meanwhile (btw, having 3 arms is required for this recipe...or a nice fiance who's willing to help out even though he's sick!), melt butter in a pan and saute the veggies until soft (keep the heat looooow).

4) Once egg noodles have cooked, veggies have been sauteed, and meat has been chopped, combine all ingredients into the stock pot and lightly simmer for 15 minutes.

5) Salt and pepper as desired, and serve!

Baked Panko Chicken Tenders

John and I made this awesome recipe last night from Love and Olive Oil (who I am now following on my cool, fancy Google Reader, because I'm all 20-something and hip!) It was wonderfully light and surprisingly flavorful! I had always been under the impression that unless chicken was marinated, it would taste like paper. Not so! We used rice flour instead of regular flour, regular instead of smoked paprika, and crushed red chili flakes instead of cayenne (still trying to learn my way around my aunt's kitchen!). John also made some fries, and a spicy habanero mustard sauce to go with it! Yum! (but, please note that I did not say Yum-O!...because I'm in protest of that phrase).

I wish I had taken a picture. Actually, I wish I had taken a picture every step of the way and made funny comments on it, like my favorite blogger Ree Drummond does on The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Seriously, if you're not following her, you should be. She's super funny, super talented, and is into so much more than just cooking! AKA- I'm jealous of her photography skills!

But hey! I actually cooked, which hasn't happened in a long time! Hopefully this be a more regular occurrence?

Allergies! Ah!

I'd like to start off this post by saying that my favorite food in the whole world is fried chicken. I'm obsessed with chocolate lava cake. I want to open my own bakery someday. Sushi is my friend. I love dogs. Apples are delicious. I could eat cheese all day, every day. Etc, etc, etc.

Also...I just found out that I'm allergic to all of those things.

I had an allergist appointment today, just to confirm my self-diagnosed fish allergy (got it right...my arm BLEW UP when he tested, like, 5 different kinds of fish on it). I had also mentioned a few other concerning things, and he just decided to test a bunch of different foods on me.

OMG. I was SO not prepared for the results. Apparently, I am TOTALLY allergic to fish and dogs. Sad day...but it's also not going to stop me from having a dog or two later on. Sorry 'bout it. But what really surprised me was all of the things to which I'm mildly allergic. Milk, apples, yeast, onions, chicken, and chocolate.

Chicken?! CHICKEN?!? CHICKEN?!?!?

How is someone allergic to chicken?!?

I mean, all I want to know is this; HOW AM I NOT DEAD!? If I'm supposedly allergic to all of these things...whatevs. For now, I'm just going to monitor when I eat these things and see how my body reacts. If it seems like I need to cut something out, I will.

But mark my words, Dr. Simpson. If you EVER try to tell me that I can't eat fried chicken, you WILL have an irate, Southern woman in your office.

So you can run and tell THAT!....homeboy!

Lemon Raspberry Birthday Cake!

Thanks Mom!

Lemon Boiled Frosting

· 2 egg whites

· 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

· 1 cup sugar

· 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

· dash salt

· 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Prepare frosting. In top of double boiler combine

egg whites, lemon juice, sugar, cream of tartar,

and salt. Beat for 1 minute with electric mixer.

Cook over boiling water, beating constantly

until stiff peaks form. Fold in lemon zest.

Frost cooled cake.

Lemon Filling

3/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 c. water

dash of salt
2 slightly beaten egg yolk
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tbsp. butter

In a saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, and dash of salt.

Add water, egg yolk, and lemon juice. Cook over

medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick.

Remove form heat; add lemon peel and butter.

Let cool before using. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Lemon Chiffon Cake

• 2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 5 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
• 1 cup egg whites (about 8 to 10)
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Into a mixing bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center. To the well, add oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla, and lemon peel. Beat until smooth and creamy. Combine egg whites with cream of tartar; beat to very stiff peaks. Pour egg yolk batter in a thin stream over entire surface of beaten egg whites, carefully cutting and folding just to blend. Bake in an ungreased 10-inch tube pan at 325° for 55 minutes. Increase heat to 350° and cook 10 minutes longer. Invert pan; cool.

Assembling this awesome cake

First cut the cake into three layers or just bake it in three pans.

Spread seedless raspberry preserves on the first layer then spread on 1/3 of the lemon filling. Do the same for the next layer.

Top with the final layer. Now thinly frost the sides with the boiled frosting saving 1/3 of the frosting in a piping bag for the edging.

Spread the remaining filling on the top layer leaving a tiny bit of a plain edge around the top so the piped frosting will stick to the cake. It will just slide off of the filling so make sure not to skip this little tip.

Pipe the remaining frosting around the edge of the top and bottom of the cake.

Decorate with fresh raspberries.

If you want a thicker coat of frosting on the sides make the above recipe using 1 full cup of water and sugar, 3 yolks and a bit more lemon juice.

Bugsy's, Lauriol, and Panisa

I have no clue why, but I have been eating out SO much lately!

8/18: Bugsy's with Regan!

111 King St.

Alexandria, VA 22314

http://www.bugsyspizza.com/

Ordered: BBQ Chicken Pizza and salad bar

Notes: Thin Crust does not mean cracker crust. It pretty much just means that it's not a deep dish pizza. Which is totally fine, because this was the best pizza crust that I have ever had (outside of my mom's and Alison's, of course!) The actual pizza itself was good...maybe too many onions? The salad bar was pretty basic, but the homemade ranch was ballin', and went so well with the BBQ Chicken Pizza.

Next Time: So interested in the midnight munchies buffet, as well as the salad and pizza lunch buffet they have! Definitely worth going back for the casual atmosphere and delicious pizza!

8/20: Lauriol with Ali and Stephanie!

1835 18th St. NW

Washington, DC 20009

www.lauriolplaza.com

Ordered: Pitcher Swirl Margs and Chicken/Steak Fajitas

Notes: The margs were fun, cheap (about 6 margs/pitcher, about $4/marg), and good. The fajitas were WAY good (came with rice and beans), and came with everything you'd want (except for cheese and sour cream). They also came with garlic butter...which I never really figured out how to work into the whole fajita wrap? Perhaps I was supposed to just pour it over the fajita itself? The salsa was WAY good, and the chips were good, but maybe not the best for dipping?

Next Time: Dessert!

8/21: Panisa with John, Katie, and Emi!

5747 Burke Centre Pkwy

Burke, VA 22015

www.panisathai.com

Ordered: Tofu Pad Thai

Notes: The tofu itself was awesome! Lightly fried, it was a nice textural contrast to the rest of the dish. I would ask for fewer onions and a little bit more spicy next time, but overall it was great!

Next Time: Yum Woon Sen...I LOVE it, and I always end up getting pad thai, and rightfully so, because I like to know where I can get good pad thai. Pad thai was a go, and so NEXT time I need to try to yum woon sen! And maybe dessert? And maybe thai iced coffee? Goodness, I just can't get enough Thai food!

Update

I haven't updated this blog in FOREVER! Since graduation, maybe? Life has been insane, and I know that I never post these kinds of things, but I figured I would just give an update to the 24 of you who follow my "cooking" blog!

I'm engaged! Planning the wedding has been SO much fun so far! We have the church, the date, the reception site, the party, the photographer, the DJ, and now the dress! It's way super fun...almost as much fun as thinking about life AFTER the wedding! And, of course, with the engagement comes engagement parties, where the food has been awesome! BBQ, an AMAZING cake that my cousin made for us, grilling kebabs, lots of drinking, and LOTS of cheese. Not exactly helping with the whole wedding day diet thing!

I'm coming into the last 2 weeks of working at Adventure Theatre. Not too much foodie stuff going on there, although we do like to bake for each other!! And my boss made us some awesome, authentic Mexican food at her potluck.

I'll be starting my job as a receptionist at Bish and Haffey along with starting grad school on August 30th. Again, nothing too exciting in relation to food there...other than the fact that I'll be able to afford some!

Oh, and I went on a trans-atlantic cruise and had, literally, all of the best food of my life. Escargot is my new #1.

More recipes to come, I promise! Although, this may start to turn into more of an adventure in DC eating/wedding planning blog. We'll see!